I understand, Robert. The Zagreb Knights definitely are different from most all others.
I think this Knight is similar in design to the German Knight in that both have the broad, flat and scooped sides. The Zagreb one is more detailed on the side with the bent down head. I feel both designs are pretty good for grabbing during a game.
That's a beautiful set. I have one of the first House of Staunton Zagreb sets (rosewood/boxwood) and it is VERY heavy (triple weighted I believe). Love the design. Congrats -Ron
Ron, glad you like the set. Padauk, like Red Sandalwood and many other exotic woods, has a tendency to darken with age and exposure to sunlight.
Here's a closeup of my set on a 2" board. Where space is limited, it works equally as well on a 2-1/8" board.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention perhaps the greatest value from House of Chess -- their 4" Sheesham Monarch set for $75 ($87 with shipping). The set is also available in Bud Rosewood and Rosewood (I own all three!).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wooden-Staunton-Chess-Pieces-Monarch-4-2-Extra-Queen-/350315495138?hash=item51906e3ee2:m:mF7d_pAm9jGkoaTD37X_l3w
I had this set out last night and went over a few games with it on a Palisander 2.25" folding board.
This set is truly triple weighted. The pieces have a real heft to them, even the pawns.
And Lou, you mentioned something to me in the message that I asked you about this set. You said of the Knight, "...it fills the hand nicely". Well, I definitely agree with you. In fact this set is superlative in how it plays. While this set is different in feel to the Noj Dubrovnik sets and the HoS Fischer-Spassky and Players sets that are of the best playing, in my opinion, this set feels equally as nice. It's kind of like the feel of an Ultimate set on steroids, in a good way.
The Monarch set you show above really looks nice also. I had to look twice at the price. That's really a nice set for really a small amount of money.
Thanks again, Lou. These sets and the company, House of Chess, are a real find. Perhaps we now need to have a House of Chess Mania started.
Do you still enjoy this set? Do you two work for House of Chess? 😂
Do you still enjoy this set? Do you two work for House of Chess? 😂
Daniel,
Thanks for posting. No, I don't work for or receive any financial, or product, compensation (including discounts) from any dealers or chess manufacturers for voicing my opinions on this forum. When I find equipment that I believe is worthy of consideration, I enjoy sharing that information with other forum members. If it's equipment that I own, I will often share my hands-on evaluation of the products I mention.
At the same time, I have often benefitted from the opinions other members have shared about their sets and boards. The beauty about the free-flow of information is that it goes both ways. You give, you receive. Keep the energy flowing.
As to the Monarch set mentioned above, I still find it a well made set and an excellent value for the money. I owned it as a 3-sided set, meaning I had a 51-piece set of 17 Boxwood, 17 Sheesham, and 17 Rosewood pieces, which gave me the option of using the set three different ways: 1) as a Boxwood/Sheesham set, 2) a Boxwood/Rosewood set or 3) as a Rosewood/Sheesham set. It was like having 3 sets in one. I ended up selling it to a young lad at a local chess tournament about 3 years ago, He was very pleased.
Argh. More Zagreb images to make me drool.
Argh. More Zagreb images to make me drool.
Your wish is my command:
I do like the more substantial knights regardless of style!
I do like the more substantial knights regardless of style!
Be careful what you wish for, you could end up with too much of a good thing. This horse was definitely overfed! You can really tell which minor piece the designer of this set favored most.
No thanks. I drew the line with Staunton-style Russian pieces.
Also that set seems to share the same base for the bishop and the knight, but the manufacturer forgot to tell the carvers exactly how tall the knight component should be.
Snippet from another thread to show how the knight should have been sized
Ron, glad you like the set. Padauk, like Red Sandalwood and many other exotic woods, has a tendency to darken with age and exposure to sunlight.
Here's a closeup of my set on a 2" board. Where space is limited, it works equally as well on a 2-1/8" board.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention perhaps the greatest value from House of Chess -- their 4" Sheesham Monarch set for $75 ($87 with shipping). The set is also available in Bud Rosewood and Rosewood (I own all three!).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wooden-Staunton-Chess-Pieces-Monarch-4-2-Extra-Queen-/350315495138?hash=item51906e3ee2:m:mF7d_pAm9jGkoaTD37X_l3w
Hey Loubalch....Do you think you can post a present day pic of the Padauk pieces. I’m curious how much they darkened. This would be almost to date a 5-year period from your post #4. I have a padauk set, and was wondering how much it would darken from how it looks now. I do like the current state. Thanks!
After many months of seeing this set owned by Lou Balch, I decided to buy it.
I do like the head down Knights of the Zagreb 59' set by The House of Staunton, and I have owned that set for over 16 years. What I don't like about the HoS Zagreb set is that the Pawn base diameter is small, so much that I really have never wanted to play a rated or serious game with it.
The reason I hesitated buying this House of Chess set was the picture of the dark pieces look quite light, and seem to have a yellowish cast to them. Looking at the pictures Lou has convinced me that his set certainly is of a nice wood quality.
So, I bought this set from The House of Chess for $149.95 delivered to my door in Peoria, Illinois. It was shipped from Amritsar, India. I ordered the set on Sunday and received it on Thursday, yesterday.
I have used the pictures from the eBay page for this set because my set looks very close to the pictures. My dark pieces are just a tad darker.
They have a New York office, which I called about a matching board. The fellow that answered, in a definite Indian accent, told me the wood they used as their Bud Rosewood is Padauk. And the board they have the set pictured on at their site and on eBay is also a Padauk board, 23" with 2.25" squares.
Now, I'm here to tell you that this set is substantial. I bought this set because I wanted the Dubrovnik style bases instead of the smaller and more puny ones of the Zagreb '59. This set, with its 4" King size is definitely meatier than most other sets. It's great.
Lou calls this a mash up set because it looks like a mashing together of the Zagreb and Dubrovnik sets with the Knights being the Zagreb style and the other pieces being Dubrovnik style. As I said, I really like the Knights as they are easier to grab when playing and still look nice, nicer than the German Knight in my opinion. I personally think this set has the best of both sets combined. And the rest of the pieces are heavier and meatier than my Noj Dubrovnik II sets. Don't get me wrong, the Noj sets play nice and all. It's just that this set is a bit of a monster set, great.
You will also see more detail on these pieces than on the CB Dubrovnik set. I'd say it looks similar to the HoS Dubrovnik as far as design details with more collars and better finish to them.
The company, House of Chess, obviously is located in India. They shipped my set from Amritsar so I'm thinking that this is at least where their carvers are. I haven't bothered to research where the offices are, but that's alright.
I have to tell you that this is one of the best valued Chess sets, if not the best, that I have bought. The set is really nice. This company is indeed a great competitor with Chess Bazaar as far as quality and price. Of course with both companies, I look to their sets for looks and playability not for exact reproduction to any original. This set, with its 4" King is better priced than the CB 4" one.
For $150 I got the set and box, pictured, shipped in 4 days to my home from India. When I order something from the West Coast, California, Washington or Oregon, it takes the same time as this set did to arrive once I make the order.
I must publicly thank Lou Balch for showing this set on this site. I definitely have a place in my tournament chess set inventory for this set and it is immediately entering the rotation.